How Should You Approach Costa Rican Geisha Coffee?

Front Street Strawberry Candy beans offer one route into Costa Rican Geisha flavor. The blend combines Geisha with other varieties and is sold as a single-origin coffee, meaning all beans trace to one region or estate. It is available at Front Street stores and its online shop.

The beans come from Finca Miramar in the Tarrazu region, run by owner Esteban Sanches, whose experimental work covers Geisha, ET47, SL28, and Maico varieties. The raisin honey coffee bean processing method shapes the cup, which shows strawberry gummy notes. Roast curves, cupping notes, and V60 parameters complete the picture from origin to brew.

To taste the Geisha flavor of the Costa Rican region, Front Street Strawberry Candy coffee beans are a worthwhile choice—this bean is a blend of Geisha with other varieties, available for purchase at Front Street's physical stores or Taobao shop. This article will focus on this Front Street Geisha blend single-origin coffee bean, first clarifying the definition of single-origin coffee, then delving into the Mirazu Estate in Costa Rica's Tarrazu region: the estate owner Esteban Sanches's academic background and experimental spirit, the origins and characteristics of varieties such as Geisha, ET47, SL28, and Maico, and the details of the raisin honey processing method. The article also fully records Front Street's roasting curve recommendations, cupping process and report, as well as V60 brewing parameters and final flavor performance, taking you from origin to cup for a comprehensive understanding of this coffee with strawberry gummy notes.

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If you want to experience the Geisha flavor of Costa Rica, Front Street Strawberry Candy coffee beans are worth a try. This bean is composed of Geisha and other varieties, and can be ordered at Front Street stores or Front Street's Taobao shop.

Front Street Geisha Blend belongs to single-origin coffee beans!

When Front Street previously introduced the Front Street Panama Butterfly Geisha blend coffee beans on its bean list, it already discussed the meaning of single-origin coffee—referring to coffee varieties from a single region. However, single-origin coffee naming methods are diverse, some use regions, some use varieties, some use processing plants, some use estates, and there are various creative names, making it dazzling.

It should be noted that a region usually cannot grow only one variety, and coffee received by processing plants also comes from different nearby farmers, so in the green bean trade segment, blending has actually already been completed. For example, Ethiopian beans vary in size precisely because the local coffee varieties are rich, mostly mixed planting and mixed harvesting. But as long as the beans come from the same origin, same estate, or cooperative, they are still classified as single-origin coffee.

Mirazu Estate

Finca Mirazu

Mirazu Estate is located in Costa Rica's specialty coffee Tarrazu region. Tarrazu is located in Central America's fertile volcanic zone, with a humid climate, fertile volcanic soil, abundant rainfall throughout the year, high altitude, and dense forests providing natural shade, creating superior conditions for coffee growth. Although many coffee estates have been built in the Tarrazu region, the subtle characteristics of each estate's microclimate, soil, and variety differences are quite completely presented. It is these wonderful differences bestowed by nature that drive Front Street to continuously seek different coffee beans within the same region for comparison.

Estate owner Esteban Sanches graduated from the Coffee Department of the University of Costa Rica, truly academically trained, and is himself highly scientific and experimental in spirit. On one hand, the estate attempts to cultivate varieties such as ET47 Ethiopian heirloom, and experiments with multiple processing methods; on the other hand, the small wet processing equipment at the estate's processing plant, from design to assembly, was completed by Esteban Sanches himself.

Coffee bean varieties

Geisha, ET47, SL28, Maico

Geisha needs no elaboration, I believe everyone is familiar with this variety. Geisha was first collected from the coffee forests of Ethiopia in the 1930s. In 1953 it was introduced to the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Central America, where it was registered as T2722. However, this plant's branches break easily, making it unpopular with farmers, so it was not widely planted.

ET47 was introduced by the Costa Rican Coffee Institute in the 1990s, given to farmers in the Tarrazu region as a research tree for leaf rust resistance. ET47 was numbered 47 in the laboratory, because many varieties were introduced at the same time, most distinguished and identified by numbers. After estate owner Esteban Sanche obtained ET47, he began dedicating himself to researching this variety. This variety can be called a complex综合体, carrying many excellent flavors, such as fruity sweetness, round and clean mouthfeel, elegant and pleasant acidity, etc. As for what ET47's "ancestors" exactly are, the Costa Rican Coffee Institute has not published it either.

SL28 According to historical records, a senior coffee official at the Scott Laboratories (A.D. Trench) noticed that a variety growing in Tanzania's Modi region seemed tolerant to drought, disease, and pests. Seeds were collected and brought back to the Scott Laboratories, where its drought resistance was confirmed. In recent years, genetic testing has also confirmed that SL28 belongs to the Bourbon genetic group, so SL28 coffee beans are also close to Bourbon varieties in appearance, round and thick.

Maico Currently there is no official published related information. The Front Street Mirazu Geisha blend coffee beans that Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) obtained are composed of 50% Geisha coffee beans and 50% ET47, SL28, MAICO mixed together. The Geisha variety provides jasmine aroma for this Front Street Mirazu coffee, while other varieties bring richer strawberry berry flavors, and through the raisin honey processing method, the sweetness of this coffee is enhanced.

Coffee bean processing method

Raisin Honey

The raisin honey processing method adopts a method of retaining 100% pectin and zero water processing. This method increases the difficulty of honey processing and requires strict control of timing. The estate owner first screens the harvested coffee cherries, places the screened coffee cherries on raised beds to dry for at least three days, then removes the skin. Interestingly, the estate owner's self-researched depulper differs from other equipment, capable of processing two different beans at once. Because the estate owner invests all his time and energy into researching machines and coffee, nearby farmers call him Dr. Machine and Sun-Dried Bean Expert.

After removing the skin, the pectin is retained, then dried. At this stage, climate factors are the key to successful honey processing. During the drying process, the coffee beans must be constantly turned to dry evenly, but the frequency of turning must be well controlled, requiring slow drying to ensure the coffee has fermentation processing, but not too slow to over-ferment. Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) found through cupping that raisin honey processing, having retained 100% pectin for sun drying, gives the coffee very high flavor sweetness and also carries a kind of candied fruit fermented sweetness.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Roasting Recommendations

Yangjia 800N, bean input: 480g. Preheat furnace temperature to 200°C, cool to 175°C for loading, adjust heat to 120, open airflow to 3, turning point 1'32", maintain heat; at 114°C keep heat unchanged, open airflow to 4.

6'15" turns yellow, grassy smell disappears, entering dehydration stage, at 140°C lower heat to 100, keep airflow at 4. 9'00" dehydration complete, bean surface shows wrinkles and dark stripes, toast smell turns to coffee aroma, prelude to first crack, at this time pay attention to listen for the sound of first crack. At 10'25" first crack begins, open airflow fully to 5, keep heat unchanged. After first crack development time 1'30", drop at 193.5°C.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Cupping Report

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) cupping is conducted within 8-24 hours after the coffee beans are roasted, using a 200ml ceramic cupping bowl, an anti-static metal standard cupping spoon, with cupping water temperature at 94 degrees Celsius. Cupping coffee powder grind size is controlled to 70%-75% passing rate on standard No. 20 sieve (0.85mm). Ratio is 1:18.18 (11.1 grams coffee powder plus 200 milliliters hot water), so the extracted concentration is exactly within the golden cup range of 1.15%-1.35%. First grind for dry aroma, then pour water to fill the bowl. Confirm wet aroma, after 4 minutes break the crust and skim, proceed with flavor evaluation.

Dry aroma: floral

Wet aroma: dried fruit, berries

Flavor: raisins, berries, nuts, cream

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Brewing Insights

Dripper: Hario V60 01

Dose: 15g

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Water temperature: 90 degrees Celsius

Grind size: medium-fine grind ((Chinese standard No. 20 sieve passing rate 80%)

Front Street brewing method: First wet the filter paper and preheat the dripper and coffee pot. Use 30 grams water for blooming for 30 seconds, pour water in a small stream in circles until 125 grams for a stage break, when the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed continue pouring water until 225 grams and stop pouring, wait until the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed then remove the dripper, (timing starts from blooming) extraction time is 2'01".

Brewed flavor: jasmine aroma, on the palate raisin sweetness, strawberry gummy sweetness, nutty creamy mouthfeel.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.